This will probably qualify as the dumbest question ever asked, but after going through the 11 pages of this topic I just have to.
Is there any special way of using cardamon and star anise in cooking.  I understand that green cardamon will explode? in a hot pan, or you can bash it with the back of a knife, but what about brown (Black?) cardamon and star anise.  Do they need to be cracked?https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/Themes/vVide3/Smileys/default/undecided.gif

Hi, I'm Bob from Australia.  I joined this forum a few days ago and have been browsing, so thought I should introduce myself.  I love curries, as do my daughters (who are all married) but the wife is not a fan of too much heat.  I suppose that my aim is to find out how to cook a curry to my taste and cool it down to hers.  With the help of this forum I hope to solve that problem.  Thanks for being here.